Haze Documents
FPS Innovation= FPS Innovation Free Radical and Ubisoft both have reputations for creating great and innovative shooting games. How does HAZE continue this trend? FPS Innovation: Gameplay *Unique Nectar Gameplay **'Enhances' the core FPS experience; anticipate, locate, destroy **Real-time adaptive behaviour adjusts to a player's individual style *Asymmetric Conflict **Play from both sides of a bitter war and employ completely distinct play styles and combat techniques *Use a range of cool new abilities: **'Melee blast' – Strike at your foes with the force of an explosion **'Weapon Steal' – In the blink of an eye, turn your opponent's gun straight back at him **'Scavenge' – Improvise with whatever you can find to fight back against the opposition *Next-gen Narrative: **Experience a narrative with real emotional impact, asking genuine ethical and moral questions about the reality of war and the way video games present it *Multiplayer integration: **Experience a range of multiplayer maps that add real depth to the central narrative *Live the war: **A continuous, immersive experience unbroken by loading, 'mission select' screens, or cutscenes; live through Jake Carpenter's first few days in the war |-|Nectar Gameplay= Some Questions *How does nectar affect my gameplay experience? *How do we solve the problem of the player losing his nectar abilities when they change sides? *What are all the different nectar states about? Nectar Overview *'Combat enhancer' developed by Mantel Corp. *Administered to all troopers via satellite-controlled intravenous injection *This makes them the best soldiers in the world *However, users are also blinded to the reality and horrors of their situation *Nectar deprivation causes immediate awakening to the reality of the situation, often causing madness and psychosis *Rather than simply being a scripted and narrative elements, nectar will impart abilities based on player's performance and play style (Player Domination ↑ ↓ Nectar Abilities) Nectar Abilities *Basic combat gameplay loop: **Survival → Eliminate Target → Survival → Strategy → Survival **Anticipate → Locate → Destroy (Nectar) **Abilities related to each loop ***Survival (Nectar Foresight) ***Eliminate Target (Nectar Focus) ***Strategy (Nectar Perception) *Nectar Foresight **Anticipation of threats *Nectar Perception **Identification of target location(s) *Nectar Focus **Zero in on target and destroy it Nectar Abilities Nectar Foresight *The ability to anticipate danger *Occurs when the player is under threat from: **Imminent explosions (rockets/grenades) **Incoming gunfire **Enemy melee attacks Nectar Perception *The ability to locate enemy forces *Occurs when the player: **Kills an enemy **Remains static for a period of time Nectar Focus *The ability to destroy an enemy, by focussing the player on just them *Occurs when the player: **Zooms in on a character **Uses the iron sight aim on a character Systemic Elements *Hold on a minute… You said the Nectar gameplay was systemic! *Original proposal based on 'Dominance' of battlefield: **The greater the player's dominance of the battlefield, the less nectar they are administered. *But how do you measure dominance? *Would probably measure dominance using factors such as: **Player health **Number of enemies nearby **Player's shooting skill *However... **Hard to create a useful equation from numerous variables that bear no relation to one another. **Very hard to balance *It would be easier and more readable if we could link each ability to a single factor, e.g.: **Player health → Nectar foresight **The lower the player's health, the better their Foresight ability gets. *This makes nectar adaptive. *Adaptive? Huh? **Nectar does not simply enhance all abilities all of the time; instead it enhances whichever ability the player needs the most. *Nectar Foresight: **The lower the player's health, the larger and more intense the filter indicating danger *Nectar Perception: **The greater the number of enemies near the player, the more intense the highlight on each *Nectar Focus: **The longer the player spends aiming at a character, the more intense the focus effect Rebel Gameplay *First off, a couple more reminders… *Meaning of HAZE: **'“The clean, hi-tech war is a lie”' *Player experience needs to be expansive, not reductive **i.e. We should give the player more and more new toys as they go through the game, not take them away *Boo! I've stopped using Nectar, and now my cool abilities are gone! *Or are they...? *'The player will now ''keep their Nectar abilities when they change sides!' *What!? How!? *'Nectar' abilities actually have ''nothing'' to do with '''nectar' *They are just human senses working at their height in combat; a sixth sense, or combat awareness *Nectar's combat-enhancing capabilities are all Mantel propaganda; all it does is blind people to the reality of their situation *In other words… Nectar is a lie *As Teare explains: **“Oh, and just so you know, those 'special abilities' they said it gave us? You might have noticed you've still got them. Just thanks to good old-fashioned adrenaline. Nectar was never about making us tougher soldiers. It was about making us compliant.” *The player can thus continue to use Foresight, Perception, and Focus **Obviously, they are no longer called 'Nectar' abilities Nectar States *In gameplay terms, there are three different 'Nectar' states: **'Nectar normal' (normal state for a trooper) **'Reality' (normal state for a rebel) **'Nectar withdrawal' (state reached when a trooper is deprived of Nectar) ***No Nectar abilities are available during this state. General Visuals *What visual effects are associated with each Nectar state? Haze420.png Audio *What audio effects are associated with each Nectar state? haze42o.png Complete Nectar FX Grid Haze01.png Haze02.png Haze03.png Haze04.png Haze05.png Haze06.png Haze07.png Haze08.png Haze09.png Haze10.png Haze11.png Haze12.png Haze13.png Haze14.png Haze15.png Haze16.png Summary *There are three core Nectar abilities: **Nectar Focus **Nectar Foresight **Nectar Perception *These enhance the very core of the FPS experience *They are adaptive, altering based on a player's current situation *However, they are not Nectar abilities at all – merely combat abilities *Thus, the player can keep them when they change sides *Difference of Nectar states is strongly supported by gameplay, audio and visual tools |-|Asymmetric Gameplay= Some Questions *What cool abilities do the rebels and troopers have? *How will fighting as a rebel be different to fighting as a trooper? Presentation Overview *Trooper Abilities *Rebel Abilities *Rebel and Trooper Comparisons *Conclusion Trooper Abilities *A quick reminder… *What are the defining features of the Mantel troopers? **Strength **Toughness **Excellent ballistics capabilities **Massive resources **Use of Nectar *In addition to their Nectar abilities, troopers have a few other abilities derived from their defining features: **Strength – Melee Blast attack **Toughness – Resilience **Ballistics – Integrated optics system **Resources – Advanced Ammunition *Note that all of these abilities are enhancements to existing abilities and do not require extra controls Melee Blast *Heavily-muscled and pumped with adrenaline, troopers melee attack with the force of an explosion *Opponents are blasted into walls and to the floor, shattering armour and bone alike *Mechanism: **Player simply uses a melee attack on an opponent **Note this melee attack is significantly slower than the rebel melee attack Resilience *Armour-plated and battle-hardened, troopers can absorb large amounts of damage *Troopers have higher health levels than rebels, of which up to 25% can be regenerated *Mechanism: Nectronomicon.png Integrated Optics System *Aided by the very latest technology, troopers can digitally zoom in on a target, regardless of the weapon they are using *Although not as good as a sniper rifle zoom, this can help troopers gain the upper hand in battle *Mechanism: **Player uses 'aim' on a gun that does not possess a zoom capability **An extra zoom is added to their view automatically as the integrated optics take effect Advanced Ammunition *With the massive technological resources available to Mantel, troopers are never short of ammunition *Mechanism: **All Mantel weaponry has a large ammo capacity by default **Also, by standing inside any Mantel vehicle for a short period of time, the player can restock all their ammunition Nectar Withdrawal Grenades *Nectar withdrawal grenades utilize a gaseous Nectar compound specifically formulated to recreate the effects of Nectar withdrawal *Only affects people who do not already have Nectar in their bloodstream *Used exclusively by Mantel next-gen special operatives *Mechanism: **Grenade is deployed and emits a cloud of Nectar gas **Any characters who are not using Nectar (i.e. rebels) caught within the cloud are hit with the effects of Nectar withdrawal **Symptoms: clouded vision, muffled sound, hallucinations **Effects fade after a short period of disorientation Rebel Abilities *What are the defining features of the rebels? **Improvisation **Speed/Agility **Intelligence *Extra abilities derived from their defining features: **Improvisation – Scavenging/Recovery **Speed/Agility – Lightfoot movement **Intelligence – Weapon stealing/vehicle hijacking/nectar administrator shot Scavenging *Rebel soldiers are masters of improvisation *They can scavenge ammunition from dropped Mantel weapons *Mechanism: **Player finds dropped Mantel weapon **Player holds 'reload' button whilst standing near the weapon **The player's ammo for their current gun is replenished Recovery *With an in-depth knowledge of field medicine and a passion for their cause, rebels are able to shake off large amounts of damage mid-battle *Owing to their lighter armour, rebels have less health than troopers *However, they are able to regenerate up to 75% of it *Mechanism: Screenshot_45.png Lightfoot Movement *Rebels are quicker and more agile than their trooper counterparts *Mechanism: **Improvements to most basic actions: ***Walk and run faster ***Reload faster ***Climb and vault faster ***Jump higher and further **Extra capabilities added: ***Dive (running + crouch button) ***Dodge (strafing + jump button) Weapon Stealing *Using speed and cunning, rebels can turn an enemy's weapon back on them in the blink of an eye *Mechanism: **Player approaches an enemy from the front **Player presses their 'weapon change' button (there is only a short window to be able to do this) **Player drops their own gun **They then disarm the enemy and grab the gun for themselves **Enemy is left disarmed, player is left pointing the enemy gun back at them Vehicle Hijacking *Making use of their speed and cunning, rebels can hijack trooper vehicles *Mechanism: **Player moves to within a short distance of an occupied vehicle **They press the 'get in vehicle' button **Player hoists themselves up onto the side of the vehicle (exact position is vehicle-dependent) **They then have a short period in which to kill the occupants or they will be thrown off Nectar Administrator Shot *A unique rebel ability that capitalises on the exposed Nectar administrator that all troopers carry on their backs to disable them *Mechanism: **A direct bullet hit to the administrator shatters the delivery mechanism and renders it inoperable **The trooper is sent into an immediate state of Nectar withdrawal and goes mad, flailing their gun around and shooting wildly before collapsing and dying **Behaviour is weapon-specific **''NB: The player is not susceptible to this behaviour, for the same reason they are not susceptible to headshots (i.e. it would be annoying)'' Rebel and Trooper Comparisons *We've laid out the different abilities of the two sides, but how do they compare? recap1.png Visual and Aural *There is a significant visual and aural difference between playing as a rebel and playing as a trooper *This difference is because the player uses Nectar as a trooper, but stops using it as a rebel *The visual and aural differences between these two states is discussed in the 'Nectar Gameplay' presentation Control 'Feel' recap2.png Action vs. Tactics *Trooper gameplay favours direct action, rebel gameplay favours strategy **But how do the abilities of each side back this up? *On the next slide, the following definitions are used: **'Action': How much skill a given action takes to perform. The higher the skill required, the higher the 'action' requirement of that ability **'Tactics': How much pre-planning a given action requires. The more pre-planning required, the higher the 'tactics' requirement of that ability Slide01.png slide02.png slide03.png slide04.png *Note: **Trooper abilities are simple and require only light strategy, making them ideal match for the player's skills early in the game *Rebel abilities are harder to perfrom and require more strategic thought, making them an ideal match for the player's skills later in the game *Thus, the unique abilities of each side create an evolution of the player's skills as they progress through the game Balance *Note the subtle balance in abilities: **Troopers have large ammo supplies, rebels can scavenge ammo from them **Rebels can steal weapons directly from troopers but risk suffering a melee blast instead **Troopers can absorb higher levels of damage than rebels, but rebels can regenerate more health **Troopers have better equipment and vehicle support; however the rebels can both steal weapons and hijack vehicles Conclusions *'Varied' and unique abilities for each side – delivery of the 'asymmetric conflict' concept *Unique abilities emphasize defining features of each side *Clear evolution of player's skill set with game progression *'Broadening' of tactical options with game progression |-|Creative Route Presentation= Game Positioning HAZE makes you, as a soldier, break away from the influence of a manipulative private military corporation. Reasons to Believe *Because you realize that the military corporation you fight for, Mantel, is manipulating you through the combined use of propaganda and the injections of a revolutionary medication, Nectar *Because, when using your doses of Nectar on the battlefield, you find out that they indeed boost your performance – but they also trick you into doing horrifying war acts and expose you to hidden side-effects such as overdoses and withdrawal phases *Because you are going to pull away from Mantel’s addictive grip and fight back, playing both sides of the same war and turning your insider knowledge against those who trained you. Brand Personality Haze is twisted, surprising, spectacular, hi-tech, deep, determined, adult* Pack Focus on our main character, the Mantel trooper: *Impacting image *High striking power *2 images in 1: **The clean high-tech war **The true vision of war Print Ads GaggedTrooper.png|Gagged Trooper HazeHelmet.jpg|Helmet Syringe.jpg|Syringe TV Concepts Addiction tvspot1.png Lies tvspot2.png |-|Unseen Haze images= Full frontal.jpg Untitled-5.jpg Fake paint.jpg Untitled-7.jpg Untitled-8.jpg Untitled-9.jpg Untitled-11.jpg Untitled-16.jpg HazeGun01.png IMG 2922.JPG HazeGun02.png 2007_0418008.jpg 2007_0418009.jpg 2007_0418010.jpg 2007_0418011.jpg 2007_0418012.jpg 2007_0418013.jpg AbandonedResort.jpg screenshot0031.png screenshot0047.png screenshot0048.png screenshot0050.png screenshot0054.png screenshot0061.png screenshot0062.png screenshot0083.png screenshot0089.png screenshot0099.png screenshot0107.png References *fps_innovation_v1.odp (01/06/2006) *nectar_gameplay_v1.odp (02/06/2006) *rebel_and_trooper_gameplay_v1.odp (01/06/2006) *nectar_effects_grid.ods (19/01/2006, last modified by Martin Keywood) *HAZE Creative Routes Presentation.ppt (08/06/2007, last modified by Etienne Allonier) *HAZE TV SPOT ADDICTION.pdf (04/06/2007, by Feref) *HAZE TV SPOT LIES IN.pdf (04/06/2007, by Feref) *HAZE_Addiction.mov *HAZE_Lies.mov Category:Internal & Technical